Living with the Consequences
by pharaoh-90
Summary: We all know that Naruto has enough determination to do just about anything, and that everyone says having that determination is a good thing. What happens, though, when that determination turns out to be a bad thing?
1. Chapter 1

Konohagakure no Sato.

Almost three years had passed since he had last laid eyes on the village of his birth, and at first glance not much had changed.

'_Wow… they got baa-chan's face on the monument. It looks good there.'_

"Oi, you ready for this, Gaki?"

"Yeah, let's get it over with."

"Look, Naruto, it's not your fau-"

Naruto interrupted his companion, but did so in a rather quiet tone. "Yes it is, Ero-sennin. You and I both know it. If hadn't been so impulsive this wouldn't have happened. I just hope that baa-chan doesn't kill me when she finds out."

"You ready for this? If you want to go, I'll do the Henge for you. I know that you can't hold it for very long yet when you are distracted," Naruto's companion asked, while placing their hand on top of his head, right between his fuzzy red ears.

Naruto leaned into the touch slightly, since that place was rather sensitive, and nodded.

"Yeah, let's get this over with."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Having made their way through the village without any trouble, and without running into any of Naruto's old friends, he and Jiraiya, for that's who his companion was, presented themselves before one of the most powerful people alive, in more than one sense of the word.

Senju Tsunade, genius of medical ninjutsu, possessor of freakish strength, holder of the Slug contract, student of the late Sarutobi Hiruzen, kunoichi of the great Sannin, and Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, looked nothing like one would expect of the person who held those titles.

She barely looked a third of her age, had problems with alcohol and gambling, and was currently passed out at her desk, drooling on some paperwork.

For her benefit, she _did_ wake up when she heard the door open, though not fast enough to prevent her visitors from seeing the end of her impromptu nap. Still, she tried her best to ignore it, and forged ahead as if it hadn't happened.

"Che, it's about damn time you two got back. You're only a month late….." Tsunade told them, all the while glaring at the pair. "What took so long?"

"Uh…..well….we had a, uh, bit of a minor, uh, setback, and that was the cause of our delay," Jiraiya sputtered out.

Finally paying attention to her senses, Tsunade noticed something was wrong. "What do you mean, 'minor setback'? And why are you holding a henge over Naruto?"

Her gaze flew between the two nins standing before her, trying to figure out what was going on. "Jiraiya, what happened?"

Jiraiya just sighed, and began his tale.

"About six months before we were supposed to be back, I ran out of things to teach him. So, in what I thought was a stroke of brilliance, I presented him to the toad elders to see if he could learn Senjutsu."

"Okay, I follow you so far, but why the sadness? Shouldn't that have been a good thing?"

"It was, until we got their answer. After doing all their tests, they found that, due to the Kyuubi, that Naruto could never learn Toad Senjutsu."

A pitying look came over Tsunade's face, along with a feeling of immense sadness. Though she herself had not learned senjutsu, she knew how powerful it was, having seen Jiraiya in action before.

The tale then continued, this time by Naruto, "That night, the fox called to me, and I visited it in my mindscape. We had communicated like that many times before, and actually got along almost decently. Anyway, he told me that I could possibly learn Kitsune Senjutsu instead, and then told me how to go about contacting those who could test me in it."

That confused the Slug Princess. "Only summon creatures can teach Senjutsu…..are you telling me that there's a Kitsune contract?"

"Yeah. It hasn't been active for like a hundred years or so, but it does exist. Anyway, once I contacted the foxes, I was presented before their council, and tested. I passed."

Tsunade thought that he would've been happy at that bit of news, but the look that Naruto had was rather bittersweet.

"They began teaching me right away, and for the rest of the six months before we were supposed to return, I tried to learn Kitsune Senjutsu. It was extremely difficult, and at the end of the six months I had almost nothing to show for it."

Based on his expression, Tsunade was beginning to get an idea of where he was headed with his story.

"So I snuck out on my own, to get some more practice in. I had a decent enough control over the nature chakra normally, but I was very frustrated that night….."

Naruto trailed off, and Jiraiya continued. "You remember what I told you of my Senjutsu training, right? How that if I had failed to control the nature chakra, I would turn into a toad statue?"

Tsunade nodded, and Naruto started speaking again, though his voice was low and broken. "I was so frustrated and angry that I tried to force the nature chakra. It worked at first, until I realized that I had pulled too much, and that I couldn't control it anymore."

A growing look of shock, horror, and sadness crossed the face of Tsunade, as well as that of her assistant, Shizune, as they realized what Naruto had done. "I lost it," he sobbed, "I was taken over by the nature chakra."

All was silent for a few minutes, save for Naruto's labored breathing, until Tsunade asked a question.

"Well, if he lost to the nature chakra, why isn't he a statue of a fox?"

Noticing that Naruto was in no state to answer, Jiraiya spoke, "Kitsune Senjutsu and Toad Senjutsu are different. Being overwhelmed by Toad Senjutsu turns you into a statue. Being overwhelmed by Kitsune Senjutsu doesn't."

Naruto picked up the narrative again. "No; failing at learning Kitsune Senjutsu turns you into a kitsune. I'm not human anymore."

Naruto locked eyes with Tsunade at that point, and the kunoichi could see the self-loathing in his eyes. She could _feel_ the anger, hatred, and disappointment that Naruto had at himself as if it were a physical thing. She also noticed something else. It registered to her also as hatred, but not at himself.

'_Does he…no, there's no way…he does. He thinks that I'm going to hate him for this. Hell, he probably thinks that we'll all hate him for this…'_

Standing up from behind her desk, Tsunade went and faced Naruto. "Naruto look at me." Once she had his gaze, however reluctantly it was given, she said, "Naruto, I don't care what you did. I'm not going to hate you. I never have, and I never will."

"But baa-chan, I fucked up. I ran off without thinking, did something stupid, and I fucked up. I fucked up bad….."

Realizing that there was still more to the story, she looked at Jiraiya. "Drop the henge, Jiraiya. I have to know."

Jiraiya sighed again, and dropped the henge, allowing the human form of Naruto to vanish in a cloud of smoke. When it cleared, it revealed the true consequences of Naruto's mistake.

Where there had just been a boy of fifteen, there now stood a large fox, whose shoulders reached Jiraiya's waist. He was looking away from her, clearly ashamed of what he had become. Still, she managed to get him to look at her, and as soon as she saw those brilliant blue eyes of his she knew in her heart and soul that Naruto hadn't changed at all where it really mattered.

Dropping to her knees, she threw her arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug. The action clearly shocked the blue-eyed fox, as it was about the last thing he had expected. Eventually, though, Naruto gave in to the hug, and pressed his now reddish-brown head into the side of hers.

Xxxxxxxxxx

After a good while had passed, Tsunade backed out of the hug. "Well, this can't be all bad news can it? There has to be some good coming from this right?"

"I don't know yet, baa-chan. I only stabilized a few days ago, and I haven't had a chance to figure out what I can and can't do anymore."

Having sat on the floor after breaking the hug, Tsunade stared off at nothing in particular, until she asked, "Stabilized? What do you mean by that?"

"I….. I don't contain the Kyuubi, anymore. After I lost to the nature chakra, and became like this, the seal was pretty much gone, and I had to release it or it would've killed me." Seeing the growing look of horror on the Hokage's face, he added, "He can only come here if called, baa-chan. Kyuubi is the boss of the kitsune contract after all. Besides that, since he's been sealed up in people for like the last fifty years or so the fox clan he's in charge of is a mess.

Anyway, my chakra was so unstable for those three weeks that I could barely even move. It still hasn't settled completely; that's why Ero-sennin had to hold the henge for me on the way here."

They all trailed off for a while, each of them thinking different things, until Tsunade asked, "What do you want to tell your friends, Naruto? At least one of them comes by every day asking about when you'll be back."

While Naruto thought, Tsunade took the time to study Naruto's new appearance. His fur was a dark reddish-brown, and she also noticed a black band of some sort hanging around his neck.

She also noticed a difference in his eyes. They retained the same shade of blue they had when he was human, but the pupil was now slit vertically. Interrupting Naruto's train of thought, she asked him what the band was.

"That?" he asked back, tilting his head back so that she might be able to see it easier. "That's my forehead protector."

And so it was. It seemed that even not being human any longer had shaken his faith in being a ninja of the Leaf.

"And the necklace I gave you?"

Jiraiya promptly pulled the item in question out of his pocket. "It don't fit anymore, and the Gaki didn't know if he could still keep it."

Tsunade just took it from him, and after untying the forehead protector from Naruto's neck, proceeded to tie the necklace to the fabric of Naruto's leaf. Once it was on, she tied it around his neck again.

Placing her hand over it, she said, "This necklace is yours, Naruto. You won it from me a long time ago, and it is yours to keep, regardless of what form you take, as you will always be Uzumaki Naruto to me."

Naruto couldn't help himself anymore, as those words meant a very great deal to him, and a big fat tear began to form in his eye, before slowly running down the fur of his face, to fall silently to the floor.

"A..arigato, baa-chan," Naruto eventually whispered out.

It was turning into a truly tender moment, until there was a knocking at the door.

"Tsunade-sama, Yuuhi Kurenai's team 8 is here to see you," the secretary said through the door.

"Just a minute," Tsunade replied, before turning to Naruto. "Well, what do you want to do? I can try to stall for you, but I won't be able to lie to them forever."

"No, they deserve to know. I don't want to lie to them. They deserve the truth."

"All of it? Are you sure?"

"Might as well. There's no point in hiding it anymore."

"Alright," she said, before turning to the door, "Send them in."

xxxxxxxxxx

When team 8 entered the Hokage's office, they were very much surprised by what they found there, though each of them were surprised for different reasons.

For Kiba and Akamaru, it was the presence of the large fox sitting on the floor next to Jiraiya. For Shino, it was the presence of Jiraiya himself, and to Hinata it was a mix of both of those, and the lack of something else. She knew that Naruto had left with Jiraiya over two and a half years ago, and knew that seeing Jiraiya meant that Naruto was back.

Tsunade looked at the three chunin before her. "Where's Kurenai?" she asked.

"Kurenai-sensei was not feeling well this morning, and has not for the past few days," Shino replied. "She also expressed to us her belief that we are more than capable of completing any assigned mission without her presence if need be."

Based on the fact that Shino had answered, Tsunade assumed he was currently acting as team leader. She also noticed Kiba, Akamaru, and Hinata all looking at the fox in her office, though they had different expressions while doing so. Kiba and Akamaru looked a little on edge, and were eying the fox carefully, even though its eyes were closed, as if it might attack them at any moment.

Hinata, on the other hand, only had curiosity on her features. She knew that anyone, or anything, for that matter, that was allowed this close to the Hokage wasn't considered a threat, so she wasn't afraid of it.

'_Still, that crystal hanging under the forehead protector looks familiar…it reminds me of-'_

At that moment, the fox opened its eyes, and looked at the three chunin in the office. All was silent for a moment, until they all heard a voice.

"N…..Naruto-kun?"

Every head in the room turned to look at Hinata, for she was the one who had spoken. They all realized that she had locked gazes with the fox, and was starting to walk towards it.

Xxxxxxxxxx

When Naruto heard Tsunade call for team 8 to come in, he moved a little farther away from the door, and closed his eyes. He listened to her ask where Kurenai was, and heard Shino's answer. While the insect-nin was speaking, he could feel their eyes on him, but it didn't feel as bad as he thought it would. Kiba and Akamaru were eyeing him warily, though he didn't think they would attack him, and Hinata was looking at him with curiosity, while Shino's gaze was indifferent.

Well, they all were until he looked at them, and heard Hinata speak his name. He honestly had no idea how she realized it was him, as he looked absolutely nothing like when he had last seen her. He also understood, somehow, that she was more stating his name than asking it.

He looked away from her again as she approached him, and didn't look back until she was kneeling right in front of him, with her teammates still staring from behind her.

"Naruto-kun?" she asked again, her voice barely audible to those in the room.

"Hai," he whispered out, and after a moment or silence, was once again wrapped in a hug, this time by the young Hyuuga.

"Th-that's _Naruto?_ What the hell happened to him?" Kiba asked, barely able to believe what his eyes and nose were telling him.

"Yes, that is Naruto. He encountered some…complications…..while he was on his trip, and this is the result."

"What's going to happen to him, Hokage-sama?" Shino asked.

"I… I don't know, Shino," she replied, sighing. "Due to circumstances which I cannot reveal to you at this time…"

"Baa-chan," Naruto interrupted, "It's ok. Tell them. I want them to know.

Xxxxxxxxxx

The conversation following that statement from Naruto was a real eye-opener for team 8, especially Hinata. She had been aware of Naruto's treatment in the village for a long time, and now she knew the reason why. She also couldn't believe the short-sightedness of the civilians in the village.

As the conversation wound down, the question of where Naruto would stay came up, and Shino and Kiba were both hesitant to offer him a place to stay, as they were not sure how their clans would take to the Naruto-fox.

"I…..I'll take him, Hokage-sama," Hinata whispered out.

"Hinata, while I respect your attachment to Naruto, I do not believe that your father will allow you to house him amongst your clan."

Hinata just kept staring at Naruto. "Then I will not take him to the clan, Shino-kun. I will stay with Naruto-kun even if I must do it in a tent on one of the training grounds."

All of them were stunned by the tone of Hinata's declaration, as none of them were expecting her to be so determined about it.

"Alright. If Naruto is ok with it then I will entrust his care to you. Naruto?"

Naruto was still trying to recover from the shock that had hit him after hearing Hinata say that she wanted to take care of him, but eventually managed to say that he was fine with it.

"Why though?" the fox asked. "Why would you go against your father like that? Why over me?"

Those in the room who knew of Hinata's crush/love of Naruto all looked at her after Naruto asked his questions, unsure of how she would answer.

"Do you remember, back in the academy, when you would feel like you were being watched outside of class?" she whispered out instead. Still, everyone in the room was able to hear her.

Naruto turned his face away from everyone, as those weren't times he was very fond of remembering. "Y-yeah, I remember. Nobody liked me back then," he said quietly, the sadness readily apparent in his voice. "Everyone ignored me, and glared at me, thinking I was the Kyuubi."

"Not everyone, Naruto-kun. I watched you back then as well, though I don't think you ever realized it. I was careful to keep myself hidden from you."

Naruto looked back at her, "Why?"

"You are everything I'm not. You are loud, confident, powerful, and you believe in yourself. You always have. I used to be none of those things. I was shy, timid, and hesitant. My father used to call me a failure, an incompetent. I had no self-confidence.

But you, you had all of those things that I lacked. You-"

Naruto cut her off, tears beginning to well up in his eyes. "I was none of those things back then. What you saw was a front that I put up to hide the broken child that I was."

Hinata in turn cut him off again, leaving the rest of those present speechless. "I know you don't think so. Still, if you had not had those traits, would you have gotten back up every time you were pushed down? No, if you had not believed in yourself, then you would have given up long ago."

"You still haven't told me why yet though," Naruto asked, trying to turn the conversation away from his troubled childhood.

"You were always there for me in the past, whether you knew it or not. You cheered for me when I faced Neji, and you helped restore the minute amount of self-confidence I had before the Chunin Exam finals. You have helped me many times, please allow me to return the favor, and help you."

Naruto looked like he wanted to say something else, but the looks he was getting from Kiba, Akamaru, and Shino convinced him that it wasn't a wise course of action to do so. Still, he knew there was something else going on, and vowed to himself that he would get to the bottom of it at some point in the future.

"Alright, Hinata-chan, I'll go with you."

Hinata just hugged him again, though this time her face was closer to his left shoulder. "Thank you, Naruto-kun," she whispered back, though it was muffled slightly by his fur.

Having gotten Naruto to agree to stay with Hinata, Tsunade paged one of her secretaries to summon Hinata's father, and then prepared to run damage control for when he actually showed up.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Hyuuga Hiashi was a very stoic person. He possessed much patience, as well as iron control over his emotions. After all, he was the Head of the Hyuuga.

Still, he couldn't help but feel flustered when he received summons to the Hokage herself. It wasn't often that a clan head was summoned to her, and when it did happen it usually meant that a member of their clan had gotten in trouble for something.

It was surprising to him how quickly his child's weakness had gotten her in hot water this time. She had not left the compound more than two hours previous, yet here he was, entering the Hokage tower, to sort out whatever mess she had shamed herself with.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Upon entering the Hokage's office, he was quite surprised to find his weak daughter's teammates present, as well as Jiraiya of the Sannin, and- was that a _fox_ next to his daughter?

"Daughter, step away from that animal. It is not safe," Hiashi told her.

Kiba and Akamaru just glared at the clan head, while Hinata, who had moved to stand next to Naruto while waiting for her father to show up, replied with, "I'm sorry, father, but I am unable to do so."

Hiashi just glared at his eldest offspring. "I am your father and your clan head. When I give you an order I expect you to follow it. Get over here. Now."

"She will do no such thing," Tsunade interrupted. "You will do well to remember, Hiashi, that both you and your daughter are ninjas under _my_ command, and as such any order I give takes precedence over one of yours.

Now then, your daughter has been selected to host the representative for a possible new summon contract for the village. The representative will be here for an indeterminate amount of time, and requires lodging in the meantime."

Having not yet made the connection between the fox and the aforementioned summons, Hiashi asked, "Where is this representative?"

Tsunade motioned to the fox in her office, and Hiashi just sneered at it. "Konoha is in no need of such a summons, and even if it were, my eldest child is far too weak to be worthy of the honor of playing host to one."

"Since when do you have the right to dictate the policy of this village, Hiashi?" Tsunade bit out, while glaring at the clan head before her. "Last time I checked, _I_ was the leader of this village, and _I _have decided that we _do _in fact need such a summons in this village. Also, I have _personally_ selected your daughter to be the host, and the Kitsune Summon representative here does not object to my choice. Do you understand?"

Hiashi glared at his daughter, and the fox she was standing next to, making no effort to hide his hatred of both, "Then I regret to inform you that I cannot allow my daughter to offer the Hyuuga compound as lodging. Due to our past history with various kitsune, I would not be able to guarantee their safety."

Despite the fact that Hiashi was acting smug about his response, Tsunade had another plan all set and ready to be used in the event of this very thing taking place. "That will not be of consequence, as I had realized this already, and have planned accordingly. Hinata will play host, at an alternative location of my choosing. This is the mission I have assigned her, and due to its nature it is of indeterminate duration. You will be notified upon its completion."

Knowing that her tone indicated dismissal, an inwardly outraged Hiashi glanced briefly at his daughter, before storming out of the office. Well, storming for a Hyuuga anyway. To any outside observer Hiashi looked mildly irritated.

Still, Hinata had caught the glance he sent her way, and it promised much pain and suffering upon her return to the compound, something which she was definitely _not_ looking forward to.

As soon as the door had closed behind Hiashi, Tsunade hung her head and began to massage her temples, exclaiming, "Ugh, I hate him."

Unfortunately, the only person to hear her was Jiraiya, as the rest of them were listening to Kiba's thoughts on the clan head.

"No offence Hinata, but your father is an asshole. He has no right to treat you like that."

Shino also decided to add his input. "While I do not agree with the language of our teammate, I also feel that your father's actions were out of line."

Hinata didn't respond, being too wrapped up in the fact that her father had called her weak, again, and this time in front of not only her teammates, but also in front of Naruto, Jiraiya, and the Hokage. The overly mortified chunin just collapsed to her knees, unable to support herself any longer.

She was brought out of her self-pity when something wet touched the side of her face, causing her to look up, right into Naruto's eyes.

"I still don't know why you have agreed to help me, but I thank you for it. Hey," he called out when she looked away, trying to keep her looking at him, "I don't care what you father said, it takes guts to stand up to Neji like you did. It may not matter much to you, but _I_ think you're strong."

Much to Naruto's surprise, Hinata threw her arms around Naruto again, this time crying openly. "Th-that means a-a lot, Naruto-kun. Th-thank you."

After giving the distraught chunin a few moments to regain her composure, Tsunade moved on. "Alright. Naruto, how long do you think it will take for your chakra to stabilize?"

"At the rate it feels like it's going, I'd guess about a week, maybe more, I'm not really sure."

"Let me know what you find out, ok?"

Naruto nodded, and then added, "Were you serious about the whole summon thing? I'm not really sure if I'm allowed to do that. Most of the kitsune I've met don't like me, since they blame me for Kyuubi being gone for so long."

"Well, I hadn't really thought about it. I just needed a reason to give to Hiashi, and that was the first plausible one I came up with," Tsunade replied sheepishly.

"I wouldn't mind becoming a summon, but I don't know if I'm allowed to, or if any of the other foxes would agree to it."

Tsunade nodded in acknowledgement of Naruto's statement, but didn't look up from rummaging around in her desk. After several minutes of digging through the files in said desk, she emerged with a map.

"Aha! I knew this was still in here somewhere. Anyway, since Hinata's father obviously doesn't want Naruto on his property, he and Hinata will have to stay somewhere else. Since Naruto's old apartment isn't a viable location either, I have selected this alternative," Tsunade said, while indicating to a point on the map.

"It's on the edge of one of the old abandoned training grounds, and nobody really goes out there anymore. It's far enough away to be private, but still within a reasonable distance of the rest of the village."

"Hey, I know where that is," Naruto added, "It's where I learned kage bunshin. I also became a gennin there."

"That's good, now I don't have to have someone escort you both out there. Anyway, I want you and Hinata to go out to the cabin there and relax until your chakra stabilizes. Once that happens, I want you to figure out what it is that you can and can't do. Until then, you're both on leave."

Turning then to Hinata's teammates, she said, "What the two of you do in the meantime is up to you and Kurenai. If she feels that you can keep doing missions without Hinata, then go for it. If not, that's fine too. If you want to help Naruto once his chakra settles down, go right ahead."

Turning back to Naruto, she added, "I'm going to start telling your friends a basic version of what happened. I'm not sure exactly which details I'll give them, but it won't be all of them. I'm not going to tell them where I'm sending you either. Not until you know what you can still do, at any rate.

Also, I have no idea what that cabin has inside of it, so be prepared for anything. Hell, I don't even remember why it's there." She then handed Hinata a voucher. "I'm putting this on the books as a high-B training mission, so feel free to get whatever you think you need. Just show whoever you're buying from that voucher and they'll charge it to the village.

"Arigato, Hokage-sama," Hinata replied, before Tsunade turned to Shino and Kiba.

"I'm sure that I don't have to tell either of you, but don't tell anybody where Naruto is. He isn't ready to face the village yet, and he's not going to until I decide that he's ready. Understand?" getting nods from both of them, she continued. "Alright, one last thing. Kiba, I need you to go find Kakashi. Shino, go find Asuma. Tell them both that I need to speak with them as soon as they are able to get here. Hinata, Naruto, I am expecting you both to get to that cabin without being found. It's not of ultra importance, but it will make everything easier that way. Any other questions? No? alright then, dismissed."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Once Kakashi and Asuma arrived in the Hokage's office, she got right down to business, laying out Naruto's situation.

"Uh, Tsunade-sama, I'm not really sure how much help I'll be here. I did sign the monkey contract, but I've never really used them for anything."

"That's fine, Asuma, you still have more knowledge than others. The four of us are the most experienced with animal summons that I know of, and anything you can add, even if it's second-hand information, will be immensely helpful."

"Maa, might I suggest inviting Gai? He's contracted with the turtles."

"That's fine. Get him up to speed, and then talk to your summons, see if you can find out anything. Hell, ask Anko if she has any ideas. If you think of anyone else, ask them. just make sure to impress upon them to be discreet about it. We don't need the whole village knowing about it.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Naruto and Hinata's trip to the abandoned cabin was filled with a somewhat awkward silence, as neither really knew what to say to the other, and they were also slightly depressed. The fact that they were taking the long way there through the other training grounds didn't really help either, as there wasn't anything going on in the background to distract them from the uneasy silence they were traveling in.

The silence continued until they reached the cabin, with Naruto slightly in front of Hinata the whole way there.

"So this is where you learned kage bunshin?" Hinata asked, breaking the silence finally.

Naruto just nodded, and then said, "Mizuki convinced me to steal the Forbidden Scroll of Seals after I failed the genin exam, and told me about this place. He told me that if I could learn one technique from the scroll, I would pass, as if it was some kind of make-up exam. Anyway, I took the scroll, came here, and learned kage bunshin. Iruka-sensei found me right after I finished, and them Mizuki showed up right after him, and tried to kill us. I used kage bunshin to beat him, and Iruka-sensei gave me his forehead protector, promoting me to genin.

I also found out about the Kyuubi here, that same night. Mizuki told me about it, with the intent to kill me while I tried to come to grips with it, I guess."

"Mizuki did that? I never knew…." Hinata replied softly, as she opened the door to the small cabin. Glancing around inside, she immediately noted that it had three rooms, most likely a bedroom, a bathroom, and main room that combined the kitchen and seating area. Quickly activating her byakugan, she confirmed the layout of the building, as well as the fact that the cabin did not have electricity, but it did have running water. It was also very dirty.

"Well, home sweet home, I guess." Naruto said as he walked in, though Hinata could tell he was less than impressed.

Hinata just walked over to a window and opened it, allowing the sounds of the forest to enter the cabin, as well as some much-needed fresh air.

Naruto of course started sneezing as the dust picked up, which made Hinata laugh at the fox, as he started trying to glare at her between his sneezes. That just made Hinata laugh harder.

"Go wait outside, Naruto-kun," she asked the fox, once he stopped sneezing. "I'll let you back in once the dust is gone."

Naruto nodded, and went back outside to find a comfortable spot to take a nap.

**AN: well, what do you think? this story came to me when i started thinking about all the times that naruto does something really dangerous with really bad consequences if he fails, but he always manages to pull through. well, this time he didnt.**

**also, i realize that it kind of just cuts off, and leaves you hanging, but that's because it isnt done yet. i do intend to finish it, though im not sure when it will happen. this is also my first time writing kiba and shino, so tell me what you think of them.  
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	2. Chapter 2

Living with the Consequences Ch 2

Several hours later, Naruto was awoken by a strange feeling coming from his chest, and from the top of his head. Opening his eyes, he realized that Hinata was lying on the ground next to him, scratching his ears.

She hadn't yet noticed he was awake, and was just staring off into space, clearly lost in thought about something. Still, Naruto took the moment to study his host.

She was only a couple months younger than him, if he remembered her birthday correctly, and he could tell that if he were still human she would be just a bit shorter than him.

'_She's grown her hair out…'_ he thought to himself, as he continued to look at her. Her jacket had changed as well, the fur-lined tan one from her youth replaced with a lavender-sleeved purple one.

Naruto was about to ask her something, when she suddenly turned her head, looking off into the woods. He noticed that her Byakugan was active, and let his question die before it was spoken.

"Who is it?" he asked instead.

"It's just Sakura-san. Hokage-sama probably sent her out here to give you a check-up," Hinata replied, as she stood up.

Though he was slightly disappointed in the fact that Hinata wasn't scratching his ears anymore, Naruto stood up as well, and tried to prepare himself for the meeting ahead.

Xxxxxxxxxx

When Haruno Sakura was called to the Hokage's office that day, the thought of Naruto being back never even crossed her mind as a reason. She was the Hokage's apprentice, after all, and was called there a lot more than the average chunin. She was also, more times than not, the preferred med-nin for the rest of her age group, as they all knew that she would do a good job, and not really sugar-coat anything when she told them how bad they were injured.

Naturally, then, she was completely floored when Tsunade told her that Naruto was back, and almost didn't hear the rest of the discussion about how he was different. Being told about the Kyuubi was both a shock and an eye-opener, as it explained a great many things about the blond on her team, and also left some questions.

Questions that were immediately forgotten about when Tsunade dropped the rest of the situation on her; about Naruto not being human anymore. It took her almost fifteen minutes to regain enough of her composure to even consider listening to whatever else her master was saying, and a good half-hour before she was able to do anything about it.

"Go check up on him," she was told, as her master pulled out a map. "He's staying here at the moment, and I would like for you to go do a full scan on him. I know that veterinary medicine isn't your specialty, but do the best you can. Also, don't tell anyone where he is. Hinata and her team already know, but try not to spread it around any further than that if you can help it."

So here she was; belting her way through the woods to one of Konoha's least-used areas, to go perform a medical procedure she wasn't really qualified for, on one of her best friends.

Finding the cabin wasn't all that difficult, and she immediately noticed that her presence was known.

"Hello, Hinata-san," Sakura said, as she jumped out of the last tree. She stopped a few feet from them, and looked down at the fox. "Naruto…"

"Hey, Sakura-chan," Naruto replied quietly, while he looked away from her.

The image of Naruto looking like he did, while turning away from her, and the self-loathing in his voice tore at Sakura's heartstrings, and she dropped to her knees in front of him, turning his head to face her. She didn't say anything; just knelt there looking him in the face, holding an entire conversation with the fox before her.

Sakura's emerald green eyes stayed locked with his crystal blue for almost a minute, until Sakura dropped her head to his shoulder and hugged him. Naruto was clearly taken by surprise at the action, as he was expecting her to hit him.

"S-Sakura-chan?" Naruto stammered out.

"I'm not going to hit you, Naruto," she replied, as she pulled back from the hug, and stood up. "I'm just glad you're back. Anyway, shishou sent me out here to do a check-up on Naruto, so we might as well get it over with."

Hinata led the others inside the cabin, and over to the rickety table. Sakura took one look at it and just shook her head, before shoving it across the room, where it promptly hit the wall and exploded into splinters.

"Wow….shishou really went all out for you two…" Sakura muttered sarcastically, while she unsealed a large exam table from a scroll she was carrying. She also went about unsealing some other equipment, and before long the small cabin was getting to be quite crowded.

"Alright, Naruto, up on the table," she told the fox. Once he was there, she began to fill him in on all the things he missed while he was gone while she did her tests. She told him about all his friends' promotions, and how Gaara was now Kazekage.

By the time she was finished, it was starting to get dark, and Naruto was barely awake, exhausted from the emotional day, even with the nap. He fell asleep on the floor while Sakura sealed up her equipment, and the pink-haired medic departed with a quiet word to her fellow chunin.

Hinata, who had been cleaning out the bedroom while Naruto got his exam, just sat down next to him, and resumed rubbing his ears, until she too fell asleep.

Xxxxxxxx

Despite his tiredness from the night before, Naruto woke shortly after dawn, and found himself in a rather peculiar situation. He was curled up in front of what remained of a couch, and Hinata was curled up next to him, as if she had been using him to keep warm during the night.

He found himself strangely unable to move away from her, which confused him even further. He knew he was able to; he just couldn't find the will to actually do it.

'_She looks so peaceful while she sleeps…'_

His thoughts were cut short, though, as Hinata chose that moment to wake up.

"Good morning, Naruto-kun," she yawned, as she sat up and stretched. "Did you sleep ok?"

"I slept fine," the vulpine ninja replied, "You?"

Hinata didn't bother to pause in her stretches, and said, "It was alright. Once the bathroom is clean I was planning on going shopping for some of the things we need. Is there anything special you require?"

"Not really," he replied, "just…no, never mind."

This of course piqued Hinata's interest, as Naruto sounded almost embarrassed about whatever it was that he wasn't telling her, and to her knowledge he had never been embarrassed about anything in his life.

"What is it Naruto? You can tell me," Hinata told him, trying to coax out whatever it was he was hiding.

She then proceeded to watch him silently argue with himself for several minutes, until he seemingly made up his mind, and began to speak.

"I need…..damn I don't want to say this….but I need…a bowl."

Hinata had to smile about that. All that debating over needing a bowl? How silly.

"Naruto, you don't need to hide things like that," she said, the smile obvious in her voice.

Naruto then looked away from her, clearly still embarrassed about his request.

"Not just any bowl though. It needs sides, and…and little grippy things on the bottom so it won't slide across the floor…." He added, his voice trailing off at the end, full of unidentifiable emotions.

The smile immediately faded from Hinata's face, as she realized why he hadn't wanted to ask her about the bowl. She was also starting to see just how much the changes had affected him, how depressed he had become.

"Okay," she replied softly, "Anything special you want on it? I'm sure I can find one with little ramen bowls on it or something…."

"No, I don't want any decorations. Just…just plain. I don't want to draw attention to it any more than I have to."

It clicked right then, just how depressed he was. Everything in his life had changed; she'd thought she'd realized how bad it was, but it hit her that she really had no idea. All of Naruto's hopes and dreams were gone now, forever destroyed by one act of impatience and thoughtlessness. Even his ultimate goal, becoming Hokage, one of the lowest bases of his drive, was just…..gone.

It wasn't just that though. Even the things people take for granted weren't possible for him anymore. He couldn't feed himself like he used to, he couldn't use bathrooms anymore, hell, he couldn't even _open doors_ for himself anymore.

If he didn't want to go kill something and eat it raw, someone else had to prepare his food, and then he had to eat it off the floor like an animal. Someone would always have to let him in and out so that he could do his…business…outside….like an animal.

It went even deeper than that too. Not only had Naruto lost just about all of his independence, something he had prized about himself his whole life, but the things that the adults had said to him when he was a child, the _hateful_ things they had said to him, it felt like they were coming true; that he was just a monster, just a demon.

Hinata crouched down in front of Naruto, "Naruto, look at me. I know what you're thinking, an-"

"How in the hell could you possibly know what I'm thinking?" he yelled back at her, startling her so bad she fell on her backside. "You have absolutely no fucking idea what I'm feeling right now, so don't try and pretend that you do! I ruined my entire goddamned _life_! There's no _fucking_ way you understand what that feels like!"

As his wildly unstable chakra began to flair around them, he got to his feet, and continued to yell. "You think I wanted this? To look just like the demon they always said I was? To be the embodiment of their loss? All my life I struggled. I fought for everything I had, and was given nothing.

I was finally starting to think things were turning around for me too. I had finished Ero-sennin's training, and would be coming home soon, but I made one mistake, just one, and everything was taken away from me! Everything I had worked for, had fought for, had cried and bled for, was gone, just like that!"

His chakra stopped flaring at that point, as he realized that Hinata was still sprawled out on the floor, tears silently falling down her face.

"Don't look at me like that," he said, in a much quieter tone, though the biting anger was still present, "I don't want your pity. I don't know why you agreed to look after me, but if it's because you feel sorry for me I want you to leave right now. Seeing the pity on Sakura-chan's face was bad enough. Hell, what am I saying? I should be happy that you all don't hate me….."

Having come to the end of his rant, Naruto turned away from the Hyuuga, and was just about to go sulk in a corner when his sensitive ears picked up a whisper from behind him.

"I will never hate you, Naruto-kun. I don't care what you do or have done, I don't think I could ever hate you, and don't call yourself things like that. I know what the villagers used to call you. I've known for a long time, almost as long as I can remember, and you aren't any of those things. So what if you changed on the outside? It's on the inside that really matters, and you haven't changed there at all.

I know that you grew up all alone, and I will always regret that I never approached you when we were little, but I'm here now, and I want to help you. I want to help you, but I can only do that if you are willing to help yourself."

"I….. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to yell at you like-"

"It's ok, Naruto-kun," Hinata said, interrupting him. "Everything in your life has changed, and you are still coming to terms with that. Just know that even though I don't know how you feel, I will always be here if you want to talk, ok?"

Naruto just nodded, not yet ready to face her yet.

"Ok, will you be okay while I run in to the village to get the things we need?"

Naruto just nodded again, this time adding, "Yeah, I'll be alright."

Hinata then gathered up the things she would need, and headed off to the village, leaving Naruto alone in the abandoned cabin.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Naruto once again wandered the halls of his mind, having come here after falling asleep again while Hinata was gone.

'_Kaa-san, Tou-san, I wish I could talk to you again…last time was so short, and I have all kinds of things I want to ask you,'_ he thought, as he wandered closer and closer to where the Kyuubi used to be. _'I just yelled at one of my best friends, and I don't know what to do.'_

He was suddenly thrown into wakefulness at that point, as something had registered to his senses, making him wake up. He looked for several minutes, but was unable to find anything.

Lying back down in a patch of sunlight inside the cabin, he returned to his thoughts, and to his mindscape. The water, or whatever it was, had gotten deeper since….then, and was now almost up to his chest, though on a human it would probably be somewhere around their knees.

The room that housed the Kyuubi was different too. The immense gates, which had once contained the strength and fury of one of the most powerful creatures in existence, were now open. Not only that, but they were bent and twisted, mangled almost beyond recognition.

For the first time he wandered into the area that had been behind the bars.

'_It's pretty dark back here…no wonder Kyuubi was always so angry. If this is all I was able to see for fifty-whatever years I'd be angry too.'_

When he finished his exploration, he was quite surprised at what he found. Or rather, what he didn't find. The room was square-ish, and apart from the water on the floor, it was absolutely _empty_. There wasn't even a dry spot to curl up in.

'_Part of me can't believe I'm thinking this, but I think I should apologize to him if I ever get a chance to. Being trapped in here, unable to see or hear or feel the outside world…hell, unable to be _dry_, for that long must have really sucked…especially since Kyuubi is fire-natured.'_

At that point he was once again drawn out of his mindscape by a noise, though this time he was able to discern the source of the interruption as being his current care-taker returning with food, based on what he could smell.

Taking a quick glance out the window, he also determined that a fair amount of time had passed while she was gone, possibly several hours.

"Sorry I was gone so long, Naruto-kun. It took a lot longer than I thought it would to get everything," she apologized, as she unloaded the bags she had brought. "Shino-kun is going to stop by later on to see if there are any insect problems here, and Kiba-kun said he would come by tomorrow to see how you were doing. He also said he wanted to apologize to you for something, though he wouldn't say what it was."

As soon as she pulled the next item out of the bag, though, she felt Naruto stiffen up and heard him start to growl. She set the item on the counter and turned to see what he was growling at, only to see that he had backed away from her, his tail was all puffed up, and he was growling at _her_!

She immediately panicked, for as Naruto continued to growl, she could feel his chakra respond to his emotions, and began to whip her head around trying to figure out what she had done to make him angry.

It was after a few moments of this that her gaze settled on the last thing she had removed from her shopping bags.

On the counter sat a small bag of premium dog food.

The gears in her mind began turning at a frantic pace, trying to find a quick way to calm him down. Unfortunately, he didn't give her that much time.

"What the hell?" he growled out, "I thought you actually cared, though I suppose I should've known better. Why would anyone care about me? Just because I _look_ like an animal doesn't mean I have to _eat_ like on-" he abruptly cut himself off, as Hinata had collapsed where she stood, and was now curled up in the corner of the kitchen on the floor, and was sobbing uncontrollably.

He turned away from her after a few moments to try and calm himself, and by extension his chakra, but he slammed his face into a set of legs. He quickly looked up to see who they belonged to, as he hadn't even the slightest idea they were approaching, let alone standing right behind him, and found himself under the intense gaze of Aburame Shino.

A very _angry_ Aburame Shino.

Who was _buzzing. _Loudly.

And glaring.

At him.

"Uzumaki Naruto, while I am not certain as to the exact events that have led to the current situation, the fact remains that my teammate is currently crying, and you seem to be at fault. However, logic dictates that I may be incorrect, so I am withholding myself from murdering you where you stand until I hear your side of the story. The sooner I hear an appropriate response the more likely they are to find your body."

Naruto wasn't sure how he could tell that Shino was glaring at him, since almost all of his face was covered, but _damn_ it was effective, and that was _before_ he added the noise from his hive, which was actually starting to gather around him.

Still, his anger wouldn't let him back down that easily, so he hopped up to the counter, grabbed the offending animal food in his jaws, and whipped it as hard as he could at Shino's face.

Shino didn't even flinch, as his insects caught the projectile, and then let it fall to the floor in front of him.

"She expects me to eat that."

"Naruto, that is Akamaru's dog food, purchased specifically for Akamaru. It is a common occurrence amongst those teamed with Inuzuka to keep some on hand in case their canine companions become hungry."

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

"I see that you are beginning to grasp the magnitude of the mistake you have made. Even my intellect is failing to quantify the size of ass you have just made of yourself, and over a simple misunderstanding no less."

Silence reigned for a few minutes then while Shino decided on his next course of action, and Naruto just stared depressedly at the floor.

"There is a clearing one mile east of here with a hollow tree near the center of it. You will wait for me there. Go, now."

Naruto made no gesture of confirmation; he just slunk his way out of the room, eyes, ears, and head hung low, and his tail dragging on the floor. Once he was gone, Shino sat down next to Hinata, who was still sobbing, and pulled her into a hug.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Naruto couldn't think. Hadn't been able to since Shino pointed out just who the dog food was for. The only thought he was able to form was how massively he had just fucked up. Because that's what it boiled down to.

He had acted on impulse, again.

He had acted without thinking, again.

He had Fucked Up, again.

No, that wasn't right….. not even first capitals could adequately describe the pit of shit he was in. He had FUCKED UP. He jumped to conclusions and threw her efforts right back in her face. What's worse is he basically said she was insulting him by trying. She, who was braving the wrath of both her father and her clan to help him, not because she had been asked, but because _she wanted to. _

Because she _cared._

About _him._

**AN: before all of you hina fans kill me, remember that naruto is depressed and lashing out at the people around him. his whole life has been turned upside down and thrown every way you can think of.**

**also, what do you think of shino? im finding him to be a very interesting character to write. his ability to insult people is astounding, especially in this kind of situation where the person being insulted realizes that they've done something wrong. all of his intelligence picking you apart slowly, methodically, _painfully_, and backed by cold hard logic. *shudders***

**for those of you who think hinata is ooc, i can see where youre coming from. just try to remember that, because naruto is depressed, she is too, though not anywhere near as much. he also threw some pretty heavy insults at her, and coming from the man she loves, they carry even more weight.**

**next chapter is the fallout. id give a date for when it will be out, but i dont know it. ill post it soon as its done tho.**

**oh, and i upped the rating for all the language in this chap. im not sure if its needed, but i prefer to err on the side of caution  
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	3. Chapter 3

Ch 3

It wasn't until almost dawn the next day that Shino came to the clearing to get Naruto. It had rained overnight and he was expecting Naruto to be curled up inside the hollowed out tree to stay dry.

That was not where he found him though. Naruto had collapsed in the middle of the clearing the previous day and hadn't moved since, not even when it began to rain. He was soaking wet, very dirty, and shivering from the cold.

Naruto heard him approach, and wearily stood up, ignoring his stiff joints. Wordlessly he walked over to Shino, his eyes never moving from a spot a few feet in front of him. They walked back in silence.

The first thing Naruto noticed when they returned to the cabin was the shadowy form of Kiba leaning against the wall next to the door.

He could feel the slight amount of killing intent in the glare he was receiving from the Inuzuka too.

Right before Naruto stepped into the cabin, Kiba spoke. "You will make this up to her. I don't care what you have to do, but you will make this right. If you don't, Kami herself won't be able to find your body."

Naruto tried to swallow the lump in his throat, and dipped his head a little farther, before slowly entering the cabin. It was fairly dark inside, as the only light inside came from a lantern and a few candles. He stayed as low to the floor as he could as he approached the couch, tail firmly between his legs.

He knew that Shino and Kiba were watching him from the other end of the room, and didn't dare to look up at Hinata, who was sitting on the couch in front of him. Instead, he spoke to the ground right in front of her.

"Hinata…I'm sorry. I acted without thinking, but that's no excuse. I shouldn't have said what I did, and if I could take it back I'd do it in a heartbeat. I am prepared to accept whatever punishment you choose."

No one spoke for a moment, until, "I think you have punished yourself enough already."

Naruto was just about to let out the breath he hadn't realized he was holding when he heard another voice.

"I don't know how, but Hinata has forgiven you. We, however, have not. You fucked up real bad, and I can't just let that slide."

Naruto didn't reply to Kiba right away. He sat and thought for a few moments, before deciding on what he was going to do.

He slowly walked over to him, and said, "Behind my leaf there is a pocket. The only thing I can offer is in it."

Though confused, Kiba untied the knot holding Naruto's forehead protector on, and began to feel around behind the metal plate. His fingers soon found the pocket, and pulled a small black pouch out of it.

When he opened the pouch, it took him several seconds to realize what he had just been given.

"You know what this is, right? What I can do with it?"

"I know what it is, and what it does. I realize it isn't enough, but it's all I have."

"What is it?" Shino asked, unable to see what Kiba had retrieved.

Kiba just held the item up, getting audible gasps from both Shino and Hinata. It was the size of a large marble, and was of a milky white color.

"Is that what I think it is?" Hinata asked.

"Yeah, it's Naruto's hoshi no tama. As long as I have this, I can pretty much make him do whatever I want."

Hinata looked ready to object to Naruto's decision, even after recent events, but Shino held up a hand to hold her off.

"You are sure this is the course of action you wish to take? You have essentially placed your life in the palm of his hand. Also, if you are thinking that we will kill you with it, and you should know that we are able to, we will not. We are more honorable than that."

"No, I didn't give it to Kiba so he could kill me with it. If one of you was gonna kill me, you would've done it by now. The reason I gave Kiba my hoshi no tama is because I want you to know that I meant my apology."

Kiba and Shino stared at each other for a while after Naruto spoke, and while they weren't saying anything, Naruto somehow knew that they were holding a conversation.

Eventually Kiba looked away and sighed, having seemingly lost their discussion. He then stuffed the orb he was holding back into its pouch, and slid it back into the pocket it came from.

"The fact that you were willing to give that up is enough, Naruto," Kiba told him. "Do it again, though…"

Shino picked up the statement, "That won't be a problem, will it, Naruto?"

"Then our purpose has been accomplished," he said to the fox, before turning to Hinata, "While you were resting earlier I took the liberty of removing a slight termite infestation in the foundation."

"My sister is supposed to be stopping by later too. Just thought I'd let you know."

"Uhh…..why?"

"Beats me. Probably 'cause she's a vet, but that's just my guess. It's orders from Hokage-sama through Sakura, so it's probably some kind of medical thing."

"Is there anything else you require our assistance with Hinata?" Shino asked.

She shook her head, but stopped abruptly, "No, unless you want to help me give Naruto-kun a bath."

"I wish I could offer my assistance in this matter, but I just recalled some urgent clan business that I have neglected to attend to," Shino said, before quickly, (but not so fast as to be rude) walking out of the cabin.

"I gotta go too. Shino said he'd let me use his shower so I can try and get rid of Naruto's scent before I go back home." He glanced at his watch, "Shit, I'm already gonna be late. Sorry!" he called out before quickly running after Shino.

Naruto was just confused, "Why is it such a bad thing if Kiba has my scent on him?"

"It's not a bad thing," Hinata replied, "but since Hokage-sama is still trying to keep your…current status a secret for the time being, it's easier if he doesn't have to explain strange smells to his clan. Now, about that bath…"

"I can bathe myself just fine," he bit back, not having regained full control over his emotions just yet.

Hinata got an uncomfortable look on her face, before saying, "I don't wish to offend you with what I'm about to say, so please don't take it like that, but are you sure about that?"

"Of course I'm," his back foot lifted and scratched behind his ear, "oh….."

"Yeah…"

"Uhh….. I fell in a couple rivers on the way to the village, does that count for anything?" he asked.

"It works for the surface dirt, but that's about it," she replied.

"Am I really that bad?" he asked next, as he twisted his head around to look at himself.

"Naruto-kun, you're filthy. I really don't know how you can stand it."

"Oh…. I hadn't really noticed. How am I supposed to get clean then? You just gonna dump a bucket of water on my head?"

"No; one of the things I picked up earlier was a large wooden tub that I had intended to use for Akamaru, but I think you'll fit just fine."

It was at that point in time that Naruto's stomach made it known that it was empty, and he quickly hid his face in embarrassment.

"After we get you clean I'll make something to eat," Hinata told him, but he shook his head.

"I was actually going to ask you if you'd let me out for a bit first. There are some rabbits around that smell good. You don't need to make anything for me."

Hinata screwed her face up trying to think of a polite way to ask her next question, but Naruto saw her look and beat her to it.

"Yeah, I know, it sounds weird to me still too. Anyway, I have found that rabbit tastes good, even though it isn't cooked. Just don't watch me eat one; it made Ero-sennin throw up."

"Oh…..how long do you think you'll be gone?"

"I don't know, maybe an hour?"

"Ok, I'll get the bath set up while you're gone then. It'll take a while to fill the tub up anyway."

Xxxxxxxxxx

Forty minutes later, Naruto was preparing for his first bath as a vulpine. Once he actually managed to get in the tub, which was rather difficult, seeing as it was as tall as Hinata's waist, he determined that all the dogs he had done this to on D-ranks were stupid. The warm water was rather relaxing, and Hinata's fingers massaging the shampoo into his fur felt really good.

"Neh, Hinata, how'd you get so good at this?"

"Lots of practice," she replied, doing her best to keep herself dry. Her jacket had been left in the other room, and so far she had managed to keep most of the water in the tub. "With Akamaru being so white, he has to get washed a lot, since it shows whenever he's even a little dirty. This shampoo also helps cut down on the wet dog smell, which me and Kurenai-sensei aren't particularly fond of."

Hinata continued to wash Naruto in silence for a while, with the only noises coming from the water, or when Naruto would let out a groan whenever she hit a sore or sensitive spot.

"Why are you doing this for me?" Naruto asked eventually. "I mean, I completely blew up at you yesterday, and you're acting like….like nothing happened. Shouldn't you still be mad at me or something?"

Hinata stopped her motions, and looked him in the face. "I already forgave you for that," she replied quietly, "Like I said before, your whole life has been flipped on its end; you're entitled to some time to adjust. Besides, I'm partially at fault for that too. I should've been more tactful with Akamaru's food, instead of just pulling it out in front of you like that, and I'm sorry."

She then rinsed him off, and helped him out of the tub, motioning over to a large towel so she could dry him off. Naruto though, being somewhat oblivious as he is, just started shaking himself, flinging drops of water everywhere.

Hinata, who was kneeling right next to him when he did that, threw her hands in front of her face and fell backwards, letting out a rather undignified yelp in the process.

Naruto heard the yelp, and immediately looked over to see what was wrong.

"You ok Hinata? I didn't knock you over, did I?"

She quickly sat up, her face red. "I-I'm fine, and no, you didn't knock me over, you just startled me."

"Oh…. I think I kinda got you all wet too, sorry."

"It's ok; Akamaru tends to do the same thing. Now hold still while I dry you off properly," Hinata told him as she ran the towel across his fur, pulling as much moisture out as she could.

It only took her a couple minutes to dry him off, and once she pulled the towel away she just stared at him for a minute before erupting in a fit of giggles, that despite vigorous attempts to suppress still came out.

"What? What's so funny?"

"N-Naruto-kun, you're all…poufy," she replied between giggles.

"What? I am not poufy!" he yelled back. Hinata just pointed to a mirror, and he quickly looked himself over. "Holy shit! I really am poufy! What the hell?"

Indeed he was; all of Naruto's hair was standing on end, as if he had recently been electrocuted. "It'll go away in a little while, so stop worrying about it. It's actually rather common in longer-haired animals, so don't think it's just you. You should see Akamaru when he gets wet in the spring or fall. All the hair he's shedding then just makes it worse."

That got both of them laughing, as they both pictured Akamaru as a gigantic white puff ball. Still laughing, Naruto left the bathroom, allowing Hinata some privacy while she got ready for bed, even though the sun was starting to peak over the horizon.

Once she had finished, both dropped into a much needed sleep.

Xxxxxxxxxx

It was approaching midday when Naruto awoke, his sensitive ears having warned him that someone was approaching the cabin. He stood up as they got closer, and nudged Hinata awake, as she had fallen asleep next to him again.

"Hmm…whazzit?" she mumbled, not wanting to wake up.

"Someone's coming," Naruto replied, "and I don't think you want them to see you sleeping in the floor. I hear…three people? Maybe four? At least two, one male, one female, and- oh, one of them's Kiba, and he just called the other one nee-chan, so I guess that she's here to do the vet thing."

Hinata finally sat up, rubbing her eyes. "Huh?"

Let it be known to all; this Hyuuga is _not_ a morning person if she can help it. Sure, she could go from sound asleep to mission ready in less than five minutes if the need called for it, but if not, well, better start waking her up at least an hour before she was needed for anything.

"Ugh, Kiba's here with his sister," he told her, just as they heard a knock on the door.

The younger Inuzuka entered first, greeting his teammate with a smile, before greeting Naruto with a slightly forced grin.

"Naruto."

"Kiba."

Hana just huffed, and shoved her brother out of the way. "Boys," she muttered under her breath, though both of them heard her.

"Hey!"

So you're Naruto?" Hana asked, looking at the fox, and completely ignoring the boys' outburst.

"Uhh, yeah," he replied slowly, uncertain as to whom he was talking to.

"I'm Inuzuka Hana, Konoha's best vet. Hokage-sama says I'm supposed to check you out, give you the works."

"O…..k….?" Naruto replied nervously. Kiba started snickering off to the side, and Hana quickly called him out on it.

"Kiba, stop snickering, or I'll get mom to give _you_ the works," she snapped at him, and her sibling immediately stopped laughing, instead having his face go pale. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Anyway, why don't you and Hinata go somewhere for a while? I have no idea how long this is going to take, and I'm sure that there will be parts that Naruto doesn't want you to witness."

Naruto and Hinata were both confused by that statement, and made their confusion known.

"Come on, Hinata," Kiba called as he pulled her gently out of the cabin, "I'll tell you about it in the way to the village, and Naruto's about to find out first hand."

Once they were gone, Hana turned to Naruto. "Alright, I've never examined a human-turned-fox before, so bare with me. I will do my best to not make you uncomfortable, but there are certain things I have to do that you probably won't like. Actually, there's one or two things I have to do that I _know_ you won't like, so I'll warn you before I do them. Now, do you have a table in here sturdy enough for you to stand on?"

Naruto shook his head no. "Sakura-chan brought her own. The table that was here was completely rotten, and Hinata hasn't gotten around to getting another one yet."

"Right then, outside we go," she said, leading him around to the back of the cabin. She then flipped through a couple signs, and slammed her hands into the ground, resulting in a table-sized block of stone sprouting from the ground.

She then pulled several storage scrolls from her pack, and went about setting up her equipment. Once that was all set, she pulled out some papers and a clipboard, and started the exam.

The first few minutes went by quickly, with her asking Naruto questions, and then recording the answers he gave. After that, she took his weight, temperature, and blood pressure, as well as his pulse and breathing rate. She listened to his heart and lungs and felt around his other organs, checking for anything out of the ordinary. His eyes, skin, ears, and teeth were examined. A blood sample was also taken.

"Alright, you're doing good so far; all that's left is the uncomfortable stuff. I have some more questions to ask you, and then some more physical examination. I really have to do these things, and I'm bound by vet-patient confidentiality to not tell anyone about what I find, unless you are in need of emergency treatment, or the Hokage orders me to."

"O…k…?"

"Before you…changed, were you sexually active?"

"What? What the hell does that have to do with anything?" Naruto yelled out, clearly offended by the question.

Hana just showed him the form she was filling out. "I told you, I _have_ to ask these questions. Trust me; I don't enjoy asking them any more than you are having to answer them. Now, were you sexually active before you changed?"

"No."

"After?"

"No."

"Any pain or discomfort while urinating or defecating?"

"No."

She continued asking him several more embarrassing questions, and after recording all his answers, moved on to the physical examination.

A very, _very_ uncomfortable, personal, and humiliating physical examination. She poked, prodded, and felt up everything he had, and he was immensely grateful to the woman for sending Hinata and Kiba away while she worked. He was embarrassed enough with just him and her.

She even took a semen sample, which utterly destroyed any shreds of dignity he had managed to hold on to through the examination.

"I know you said that you have to do all this stuff, but why did you have to grab…..you know….."

"Why did I grab your testicles?"

Too ashamed to answer, Naruto nodded.

"Well, do you want to have a family someday?" Naruto nodded. "Well, I was checking to make sure both of your testicles had dropped. When they don't, their ability to make sperm is basically ruined, and they become much more likely to develop tumors and cancer, neither of which you want to have, and both of which usually result in the removal of said testicle."

Naruto's eyes widened dramatically, "Yeah, you don't want that to happen. Now, I'm going to take all this stuff back to my office and go over the samples I took, and I'll get back to you with the results as soon as I have them. Hokage-sama will also get a copy. No one else will know unless you tell them. Some of the people I work with will see the samples, but they won't know that they actually belong to you," she told him while packing up her equipment and re-sealing it all.

"You should get your results in a couple weeks. Later!"

Once the smoke cleared from her shunshin, Naruto just curled up on the stone platform, and went to sleep, hoping that he would forget all about what had just happened.

**AN: for those of you who dont know what a hoshi no tama is: in japanese folklore, or at least as far as i can tell, the hoshi no tama (star ball) is a small white orb carried by kitsune. if someone manages to take it from them, they are said to be willing to do just about anything to get it back. it acts as a means of control over the kitsune, after a fashion. naruto giving that up willingly just shows how sincere he is really being.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ch 4**

Despite the terribly embarrassing examination, Naruto fell into a rather deep sleep, and was still unconscious when Hinata returned to the cabin. Seeing this, she decided to allow him to sleep, and went about setting up the furniture she had purchased.

This time was also used to help her deal with all the mental images that had been brought on by Kiba's description of 'the works.' Her crush on Naruto being what it was, she kept imaging herself doing all the things he mentioned to a human Naruto, and almost passed out when he mentioned the testicle check. Once she had recovered from that, Kiba had listed off the samples that were normally taken, and the methods involved with acquiring said samples, and she really passed out that time.

It had taken her quite a while to regain enough focus to finish her shopping, and she was grateful that her teammate didn't try to continue their previous conversation any further than it had gone already.

She didn't think she could handle it.

Fortunately, Kiba had hung around while she recovered, and helped her to gather the things she needed to make up for the fact that he made her pass out. He even offered to help her set it up in the cabin, but she was able to convince him that she would be alright.

And she would be; the real reason was that she didn't want him to be around while she and Naruto were being awkward around each other, something she _knew_ was going to happen.

She was actually a little relieved when she found him sleeping, as it would allow her more time to prepare herself for the coming awkwardness.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Naruto awoke to find the time near dusk. He also noticed a rather pleasing smell in the air, which he quickly identified as some kind of vegetable soup. He was about to go charging in to the cabin to find out more about the delicious scent, but stopped right before the door as his nose picked up another scent.

Hinata.

A person who knew what kind of utterly _humiliating_ exam he just went through.

A person he was bound to be very awkward around.

A person-

"Naruto-kun? Why are you standing right in front of the door?"

A person who just asked him a question.

"Huh?" he called, looking around as he tried to regain his bearings.

The door then opened, revealing the slightly blushing form of the young woman currently taking care of him. "C-come in, dinner is almost ready."

Naruto just threw her a quick glance before entering the small building, not wanting to give rise to the inevitably approaching awkwardness.

Hinata, on the other hand, was trying not to pass out from hyperventilating.

_'Come in, dinner's almost ready? I sound like a wife. Eeeep! I sound like Naruto-kun's wife!'_

She was then saved, oddly enough, by the very person causing the problem, as Naruto chose that moment to ask her what she was cooking.

"O-oh. Just some vegetable soup, why?"

"It smells good," he replied, taking in the sights of the new furniture.

The remains of the old furniture were gone; a small table and four chairs near the woodstove in the kitchen area, and a couch and coffee table on the other end of the room having replaced it. The room was also much cleaner, though he couldn't smell any chemicals.

Inspection over, Naruto turned to see Hinata ladling some of the soup into some bowls, one of which he noticed had little grippy things on the bottom.

Letting out a shaky sigh, he wandered over to the kitchen as she gently set the bowl on the floor for him, before sitting at the table.

He just stood in place, eyes locked on his bowl of soup, listening to Hinata eat. Try as he might, he just couldn't force himself to eat it. Not while she could see him. Not while she could see his shame.

His ears picked up the sound of her spoon landing on the table, and he looked up her, only for her to drop next to him and put her arms around him. When she pulled back, he could see the tears pooling in the corners of her eyes.

He tried to speak, but he just couldn't get the words to come out. His feelings were a jumbled mess, and he had no idea how to even begin to deal with them. Eventually he turned away from her, not wanting to burden her with the shame he felt, that he was sure was written all over his face.

"You don't want me to watch you eat, do you?" she asked quietly. "You feel ashamed that you now have to eat off the floor, right?" Naruto just kept his face turned away, and flinched as if he had been struck. "Would it help if I went outside?"

Naruto just shook his head. "You still know," he whispered, his voice heavy with emotion. "Nothing can change that."

She just continued to hold him for a moment, before slowly letting go. Still looking away, he heard her clothes move, the bowl slide across the table, and the spoon be picked up. When he heard the bowl get set on the floor, he finally turned to face her.

She had gotten down on her stomach, with her bowl of cooling soup on the floor in front of her. Surprised at her actions, he also noticed that if he were to go over to his bowl and start eating that she wouldn't be able to see him without turning her head.

"Will this help?"

He just looked at her for a few moments, before slowly walking over to his bowl, ears and tail hung low. "Just…just don't watch."

Xxxxxxxxxx

The rest of the night passed in silence. Hinata went to bed shortly after cleaning up after dinner, and Naruto curled up on the couch, trying to convince himself that he couldn't hear Hinata crying softly from the other room, or smell her tears.

An hour or so later he finally gave in and decided to go check on her. Nudging her door open, he saw that while she had actually fallen asleep, the tears hadn't stopped. Creeping slowly, he moved to the edge of her futon, and gently pushed his nose against her hand.

Her eyes opened almost instantly, and she immediately looked at him as he hesitated, and then met her gaze. His shoulders were slumped, his tail was dragging behind him, and his ears lay flat on his head.

Even without all the experience she had with Akamaru, she could tell that he was sad. She tried to smile for him, but they both knew that it was forced.

"What's wrong?" he asked quietly.

She just shook her head. "I'm fine," she whispered, and she immediately knew he could tell the lie.

Naruto just kept looking at her with his forlorn expression. "Then why have you been crying since dinner?" he whispered.

"Because you aren't fine," she replied eventually. "You're hurting inside, I don't know how to help you, and that makes me feel bad."

"You don't have to feel bad for me. I'll be fine."

"I can't help it," she replied with a wry smile, "I care about you too much for that…and you don't have to pretend to be fine around me all the time. You don't have to keep everyone at a distance."

She could see his emotions fighting with each other, a lifetime of keeping everyone at arms length so they couldn't hurt him warring with an almost desperate need for someone to hold him and tell him that everything will be okay.

She remembered the looks he threw at the other kids in the academy when their parents came to pick them up at the end of they day, or drop them off in the morning. She didn't understand them at the time, but looking back now she could see the _longing_ in his expressions; slumped shoulders, his face turned towards the ground in front of him, eyes stealing quick glances at the happy families.

Ever so gently, she pulled him towards her, and once he was close enough, she gently wrapped her arms around him. "You don't have to hold all your pain inside. It's okay to let it out."

She could feel the tension in him as he tried to retain hold on his emotions, and wondered if anyone had ever held him while he cried before. "Let it go, Naruto-kun. I'm not going anywhere until you do."

So he did.

He curled up in her arms and wept. For all the times he failed, for all the mistakes he made, for the childhood he never really had, for everything he kept bottled up inside, he wept. For the first time since his early childhood he wept, and for the first time, there was someone there to hold him while he did so.

Xxxxxxxxxx

It took almost four hours for Naruto to cry himself to sleep, and every sob and hitched breath broke her heart just a little bit more. Her tears continued to fall though, as she tried to comprehend how he must have felt while growing up.

It was at that moment, as she held the distraught form next to her, that she vowed to do whatever it took to always be there for him. So long as she drew breath, she would show him the love he had missed out on so far in his life, consequences be damned.

**AN: yes, i know its been forever since i've uploaded anything. yes, i know that this is really short. yes, i know that you all probably want to kill me.**

**anyway, this chap is short because i felt that it should end where it did. nothing i added to it felt right.  
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**also, i think im most of the way through the angsty part of this fic. next chap or so it should start to liven up a bit ^^  
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	5. Chapter 5

**Ch 5**

When Naruto woke the next morning, the first thing he noticed was that he had fallen asleep at some point after Hinata had convinced him to let out some of his bottled up emotions. He knew that holding them in like he had wasn't healthy, but he didn't really know what else to do with them.

Anyway, now that he had finally let some of it all out, he did feel a little better. Exhausted, yes, but better.

Also apparent to him was that Hinata had cried along with him, as he could smell the difference between their tears. The feelings coursing through him at that moment were almost scary in how foreign they felt. Try as he might, he couldn't name how he felt, but warm, comfortable, and safe would have to do.

She didn't know it yet, but Hinata had just about made it to the top of his precious people list. Idly, his next thought was how Iruka would react if he knew that one of his old students was now competing with him for the title of 'Naruto's Most Precious Person.'"

Before he could finish that thought though, a strange feeling washed over him, ending up as a rather insistent presence in the back of his head. It took him a second to figure out what it was, and it set him a bit on edge once he did.

Noticing the presence growing, he quickly woke Hinata.

"Huh? Wazzit? Naruto-kun? What's wrong?" she yawned.

"I'm being summoned," he told her. "I just thought I should wake you up before I left."

"Huh? Summoned?" she replied, now at least partially awake.

"Yeah. I was told that this would probably happen, and that I shouldn't be gone for more than a day or two. See y-"

He was abruptly cut off as he vanished in a cloud of smoke, leaving a very confused Hyuuga behind.

Xxxxxxxxxx

When the smoke cleared, Naruto found himself surrounded by a quartet of five tailed foxes. Looking past them, he noticed that they were in a relatively small forest clearing, but didn't have time to examine the surroundings further, as one of the foxes spoke.

"Uzumaki Naruto," it growled, the deepness of the voice implying that this one was male, "You are to go before the High Council. Do not speak until spoken to. Follow me."

Naruto quickly fell into step behind him, and noted that the other three were to either side and behind him, effectively boxing him in. In addition to their greater number of tails, Naruto also noted that they were all significantly larger than him; the top of his head not even reaching the shoulders of the smallest of them.

The next thing he noticed was a large stone wall slowly emerging through the trees, though calling it a wall didn't really do it justice. As he came up to it, he realized that he couldn't see the top or either end. The only real distinguishing feature it had was the large archway right in front of him; large enough that the Kyuubi could easily fit through it.

Naruto's escorts led him right through the arch, and down the ensuing tunnel. Emerging on the other side, the first thing he saw was Kyuubi.

They immediately locked gazes, though neither said anything. Naruto did his best to hide his nerves, but he knew that he wasn't fooling them. Kyuubi though gave away nothing, and Naruto soon had to tear his gaze away to see where he was going.

Off to his left, ne noticed several other foxes, all only slightly smaller than the Kyuubi, spread around the edge of the arena-like area he was in now.

It was this direction he was herded towards, and as soon as he was before them, the middle one spoke.

"Uzumaki Naruto, it is the understanding of this council that you are the former host to what you refer to as the bijuu Kyuubi?"

"Hai."

He wanted to say more, but the glares he was getting from the eerily silent audience convinced him not to.

"Is it also true that you are not the first of these containers?"

"I was the third."

"Who were the others?"

Naruto swallowed nervously, suddenly aware that all he had to offer on the subject was told to him by his mother in the brief chance he had to meet with her.

"The first was Uzumaki Mito, the wife of the First Hokage. The second was…was my mother, Uzumaki Kushina."

"How is it that a mere human could possibly contain one such as the Kyuubi?" another one asked.

"I don't know how the Kyuubi came to be sealed in Mito or my mother, but my seal was created by my parents, and it required my father to sacrifice his soul to the Shinigami to make it work. Beyond that I don't know."

"You conspired to keep our leader away from us for over eighty years! You should be killed!" one of the foxes off to the side yelled.

"Shut up," the Kyuubi growled. "The ones this human spawned from weren't even born yet when I was taken from here, so there's no way that is his fault. I told you all already that it was an Uchiha that was responsible. Only a fully matured set of those damnable Sharingan eyes can even hope to subvert my will. How that man managed to summon me I do not know, but as soon as he did I was trapped by his damnable eyes, and somehow rendered under his control. He then forced me to fight the First Hokage, who sealed me in his wife.

The next thing I remember was when I was sealed into the brat's mother. It was exceedingly painful. Somehow, during the time she was giving birth to this brat, the same Uchiha from before found her, ripped me out of her, and used his damnable eyes on me again, sending me on a rampage through the village nearby. The brat's father was able to hold me off long enough to prepare and seal me into him.

The intensity of the sealing rendered me unconscious for over a decade, and it wasn't until the brat began to pull on my chakra that I awoke. Even then, it was a further few years before I managed to break that Uchiha's control of me."

The council spent the next few moments digesting what the Kyuubi had just told them, leaving Naruto to stand nervously in front of them.

"Why did you recommend this boy to undergo our Sage training?" another of the elders asked.

"Because this whelp has managed to gain a measure of my respect. Despite the fact that he was raised to view me as a bloodthirsty mass of rage incarnate, he still attempted befriend me, or at least not to antagonize me needlessly.

Though I loathe the thought, this boy is half the reason I was able to throw off that damnable Uchiha's compulsions. I do not know how or why, so don't bother asking. I recommended him for our Sage training because he was unable to learn the same style as his master, due to my presence. Thus, any debt I had towards him was repayed."

Naruto was left reeling by this admission. He had helped free the Kyuubi from the masked man's control? _Him? _A genin who had only graduated on his teachers whim?

He was so shocked by this revelation that he missed the next few questions, and would have remained lost in thought were it not for one of his escorts stepping on his foot to get his attention.

"Huh?"

"What do you desire to do with yourself, Uzumaki Naruto?" the middle council member asked. "Though you have managed to pass the trials to becoming a sage of the kitsune, you have given up your humanity to do so. This council finds both you and the village you are from not responsible for the actions you took in regards to Kurama, so you won't be executed, but the question of your future remains. You do not have to decide at this moment, but we would like your answer soon. That is all."

That just made him more confused, and he allowed himself to be led back to the clearing he appeared in almost on autopilot, and before he knew it he was back in the bedroom he had started his day in.

**AN: No, i'm not dead. yes, this is short. yes, it will be continued. no, i'm not abandoning anything. just dealing with real life stuff.**

**damn real life stuff.**


End file.
